How did Belgium perform in leveraging private climate finance as a result of Belgian public sector interventions?

A lot of money is needed for the prevention of or adaptation to climate change. During the Conference of Parties (COP) under the UNFCCC in Copenhagen (2009) it was decided that the rich developed countries will support the developing countries with USD 100 billion per year to spend on climate related projects. This report presents the results of a study on Belgium’s international climate finance, as a contribution to the international effort led by the OECD’s Research Collaborative on Tracking Private Climate Finance to enhance transparency on the mobilisation of private climate finance. The study developed a methodological framework for tracking and measuring private climate finance mobilised by Belgian public interventions as well as a quantitative assessment of Belgium’s public climate finance and mobilised private climate finance for the years 2013-2014. Moreover, this study mapped the investment landscape of climate finance within Belgium.

The main conclusions and key findings of the project can be summarised as follows:

In spite of the ‘climate finance’ commitment of USD 100 billion per year by 2020, there is no international agreement on the types of funds and instruments that can be defined as mobilised under this commitment. In particular, it remains unclear what private finance flows could be considered as being mobilised for climate-related mitigation and adaptation action in developing countries. Consensus amongst stakeholders about international standards for definitions and measurement methodologies for private climate finance mobilised by developed country public interventions is important and the starting point for a successful joint effort.

This study did provide insight in all the (practical) complexities, reporting difficulties and efforts needed to come to an accurate, accountable and transparent methodology to track private climate finance by public sector interventions. The study delivered several interesting insights in terms of where to improve the climate finance MRV framework in Belgium.

The data show that the Belgian climate finance mobilised relatively little private capital during the 2013-14 period, as the majority of Belgian public climate finance consist of ‘traditional’ development aid instruments (like grants) that have a strong focus on supporting an enabling environment.